Expert: Don Wood - 5/19/2007

Question
I'm in the 11th grade. I wanted to know what is a good digital SLR camera to buy and photography schools in Georgia and Florida. Also, what is a good type of classes to take if I go to college for anything pertaing to photography and tips in the photography business. Lastly, I was trying to get a summer job working for a picture company and anything like that, I live in Jacksonville, Florida, do you have any suggestions

Answer
Jasmine  To answer your question about the camera to buy. You will determine that through your budget, the amount of money that you can spend. When faced with two cameras of the same price, I would determine the amount of megapixels it captures, obviously one with 3 megapixels may not be as good as the one with 6 megapixels, all the other controls being equal.  Prices will vary from sub $100 to over $1000 dollars. Any camera you buy now will probably be obsolete by the time you enter the market as a photographer. Look in the yellow pages for studios, then contact them asking if they could use some part-time help. You will probably be sweeping, cleaning, equipment carrier, go-for rather than actually taking the pictures. If you are paid it will probably be bottom dollar or nothing. But the experience you receive will be worth while in your training. Then post High School, plan on going to college, google for photographic schools and investigate them. I would also recommend taking several business courses to prepare you for that portion of the business of photography. You see, you don't determine the price of your services just on film costs, developing costs, or in your case, the price of the ink, paper, memory card. You must also figure in a percentage of the cost of your equipment you must use,(including computer, printer, special clothing, transportation costs, etc). All of this must figure into your cost charged to the customer.
To summarize, get the best camera you can afford, knowing that in 4 years it will probably be obsolete, even though perfectly usable. Go to college, one of the schools you've googled, take business courses.
Use the yellow pages contacting the local photo places, shops, studios asking if they would use you as occasional help. Not being in Jacksonville I don't know of what else to suggest. I do know that the U of Florida is renowned for its journalism department which probably has photography courses.
There are so many parts of the photography field, portrait studio, wedding studio, commercial studio, free-lance newspaper, sports photography (including team pictures, etc)that it is hard to decide which will be your interest.
Best of luck to you, keep me posted, if I can be of further aid, please use this forum to do so.
Don